Joe Biden: The Voice Of Anti-Gun Experience

Last week, we highlighted the enormous differences between vice presidential nominees Sarah Palin (R) and Joe Biden (D).Most people are saying that Barack Obama chose Biden as his running mate to compensate for his own lack of experience.After all, Obama has been in the Senate since only 2005, while Biden has been a senator since 1973, when Obama was 11 years old.But few in the Senate have as much experience as Biden in attacking our Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

Just like fellow Democrats Edward Kennedy, Charles Schumer and Dianne Feinstein, Biden has voted for, and actively pushed, major anti-gun bills, including those:

Banning semi-automatic firearms;

Banning hunting, sporting and self-defense ammunition;

Banning magazines holding more than 10 rounds; and

Imposing a waiting period on handgun sales.

Biden also voted against the law that prohibits lawsuits designed to bankrupt law-abiding firearm manufacturers and dealers.And he voted against the confirmation of Supreme Court Justices who support the Second Amendment, and voted for the confirmation of Justices who do not.

The Brady Campaign sums it up in a straightforward fashion: "Senator Biden has been a consistent supporter of the Brady Campaign."According to the gun prohibition activist group, "Senator Biden was a key player in the fight for the federal assault weapons ban that passed in 1994.He also worked hard for passage of the Brady Law (sic)."

To hear Biden tell it, though, that's only half the story.Last year, during a debate with Obama, Sen. Hillary Clinton, and other contenders for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, Biden said, "I'm the guy who originally wrote the assault weapons ban."

Now, on the one hand, Biden has been faulted in the past for claiming credit for others' work.In one instance, the Washington Post reported, Biden "lifted five pages from a published law review article and used them in his 15-page paper for a legal-methods course" in college.He also plagiarized British Labor Leader Neil Kinnock in a speech before the National Education Association, and similarly "failed to attribute to the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy a lengthy passage . . . in a speech he gave to the California Democratic Party."

But Biden almost told the truth about his role in the "assault weapon" issue.Indeed, though Sens. Howard Metzenbaum (D-OH) and Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ) had authored earlier bills, Biden introduced an "assault weapons" ban in Congress five years before the Clinton gun and magazine ban was imposed.In 1989, a Biden bill (S. 1970) proposed to ban the Colt AR-15 and eight similar firearms as "assault weapons," and authorize the Secretary of the Treasury (in reality, the then Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) and the Attorney General to recommend to Congress any other firearms, regardless of type, to be banned as "additional assault weapons."

To this day, Biden doesn't merely support a ban on "assault weapons" and standard-capacity magazines holding more than 10 rounds, he actively pushes it.In the current Congress, another Biden bill (S. 2237) proposes to renew the Clinton ban on roughly 200 makes and models of semi-automatic rifles, shotguns, and handguns on the basis of things like the shape of their grips, and on ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, regardless of the kind of firearm in which they are used.

The Supreme Court's recent ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller—the case that overturned Washington, D.C.'s handgun ban—offers two more insights into Biden's position on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

First, Biden has been in the Senate long enough to vote on the confirmation of all nine justices now on the Court.Biden voted to confirm only one of the five justices who ruled against D.C.'s handgun ban in Heller, and he voted to confirm all four justices who believed D.C. could ban handguns without violating the Second Amendment.

Second, before the case went before the Supreme Court, more than 300 members of Congress signed a legal brief supporting the Second Amendment and opposing D.C.'s handgun ban.Biden, like Obama, refused to sign the brief.

While the Obama campaign wants voters to think that Joe Biden complements him, bringing a different perspective to the Democrat ticket, the reality is that both candidates have long records throughout their careers of not merely of going along with gun control, but originating and pushing the anti-gun agenda aggressively.It is fair to say that if Barack Obama is elected president, Joe Biden will be the most anti-gun vice president in American history.

Early this morning, Sub. Senate Bill 199, now including original language from Sub. House Bill 48, overwhelmingly passed the House and final concurrence in the Senate, despite the efforts of misguided anti-gun groups. The bill will ...

Today, Sub. Senate Bill 199 is expected to receive its final votes; however, anti-gun groups are actively trying to defeat this bill! It is important that you contact your state legislators TODAY and tell them that an ...

Recently the California Department of Justice Bureau of Firearms sent out a notice to California firearms dealers with information regarding the recently passed “assault weapon” legislation, SB880 and AB 1135.

Guinness World Records may refuse to acknowledge feats pertaining to the lawful exercise of right to keep and bear arms, but how about a world record for most shameless attempt to politicize tragedy? The competition would ...

Today, both Senate Bill 199 and Sub. House Bill 48 had their final hearings. Both bills are expected for consideration on the House and Senate floors as early as tomorrow. Anti-gun groups are pushing misguided ...

Fairfax, Va.— California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law on Friday a package of gun bills that were rushed through the state legislature with no regard for proper process. The National Rifle Association Institute for ...

Today, December 5, 2016, the Honolulu Police Department announced that the firearm permit application fee has increased to $42.00. This fee increase is one of the first effects of the provisions in Senate Bill 2954 which was signed into ...

A while back, we wrote about an inane NBC Today Show segment that recommended homeowners rely on car keys and wasp spray to defend themselves against burglars and other home invaders. A former New York ...

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.